Fiscal and environmental policy under monopolistic competition

Summary Keynesian demand management offsets some of the distortions caused by monopolistic competition and thus induces multiplier effects on national income and environmental damages. The cost of public funds rises with the virtual environmental tax and the degree of competition in the product market. The virtual environmental tax rises with abatement and falls with the cost of public funds. Consequently, greener preferences induce a rise in the virtual environmental tax, the cost of public funds and public abatement, and a fall in the provision of traditional public goods. A greater preference for traditional public goods harms environmental quality, since both abatement and output fall. Protecting cartels lowers the cost of public funds and may raise the provision of both traditional public goods and abatement. Environmental quality may thus rise, but other components of social welfare will fall. The paper also analyses the effects of private abatement, pollution taxes, fiscal consolidation and the progressivity of the tax system on government policy, employment, environmental quality and welfare.This paper was prepared for the OCFEB workshop Quantitative Economics for Environmental Policy held at the Tinbergen Institute Rotterdam, March 22 1994. We thank Casper van Ewijk and Jenny E. Ligthart for useful comments.     

Book Reviews

Miyohei Shinohara and Fu-Chen Lo (eds), Global Adjustment and the Future of Asian-Pacific Economy, Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo: Asian and Pacific Development Centre and Institute of Developing Economies, 1989, pp. 585 + xxi, npg.

Frank J. Costa, Ashok K. Dutt, Laurence J.C. Ma and Allen G. Noble, Urbanization in Asia: Spatial Dimensions and Policy Issues, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1989. US$44.

W. de Jong and F. van Steenbergen, Town and Hinterland in Central Java, Jogyakarta: Gadjah Mada University Press, 1987, pp. 250 + iv. Paper: Rp 7,000.

Bruce Mckern and Praipol Koomsup (eds), The Minerals Industries of Asean and Australia: Problems and Prospects, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1987, pp. 378 + xviii. Paper: $29.95.

Bruce Mckern and Praipol Koomsup (eds), Minerals Processing in the Industrialisation of Asean and Australia, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1988, pp. 388 + xvii. Paper: $29.95.

Mohamed Ariff and Tan Loong-Hoe (eds), The Uruguay Round: Asean Trade Policy Options, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1988, pp. 211 + xvi.

William R. Cline, The Future of World Trade in Textiles and Apparel, Institute for International Economics, Washington, 1987, pp. 325 + xiv. US$20.

Peter Drysdale, International Economic Pluralism: Economic Policy in East Asia and the Pacific, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1988, pp. 294. Paper $20; Cloth: $30.

Helen Hughes (ed.), Achieving Industrialization in East Asia, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988, pp. 377 + xviii. $59.50.

BRIEFLY NOTED: J. C. Conroy, Shelter for the Homeless: Asian-Pacific Needs and Australian Responses, Canberra: Australian Council for Overseas Aid Development Dossier No 22,1987, pp. 141 + vi.     

Does IFRS 10 on Consolidated Financial Statements Abandon Accepted Economic Principles?

The 2007 global financial crisis revealed a deficiency in the financial reporting of off‐balance‐sheet vehicles. To better reflect risks associated with such items, International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 10 provided new principles for determining an investor's control of an investee for the purpose of preparing consolidated financial statements. We show that an applicative example appearing under the new guidelines contradicts the conclusion drawn from widely accepted power indices: the Shapley‐Shubik value and the Banzhaf index. Our study adds to the literature aiming to incorporate methodological economic thought into accounting principles.     

Knowledge maturity as a means to support decision making during product‐service systems development projects in the aerospace sector

Streamlining new product development forces companies to make decisions on preliminary information. This article considers this challenge within the context of project management in the aerospace sector and, in particular, for the development of product‐service systems. The concept of knowledge maturity is explored as a means to provide practical decision support, which increases decision makers' awareness of the knowledge base and supports cross‐boundary discussions on the perceived maturity of available knowledge, thereby identifying and mitigating limitations. Requirements are elicited from previous research on knowledge maturity in the aerospace industry, and a knowledge maturity model is developed through five industry‐based workshops.     

基于细化社会核算矩阵的突发公共事件产业影响分析

根据最新的2007年中国投入产出表,再结合其他数据编制的细化社会核算矩阵,可以用来分析突发公共事件的产业总影响和产业间影响。研究发现:劳动密集型产业以及与其他产业具有较高关联度的产业,受突发公共事件冲击的总产出影响较大;而同一突发公共事件冲击所带来的经济影响在不同产业间的分布差异较大。了解这些影响的大小,对于突发公共事件的优化管理具有重要意义。     

Does alignment matter? The performance implications of HR roles connected to organizational strategy

For the HR function to have a positive impact on performance and thus strategically add value to the organization, it has been suggested to redefine its traditional operational role. However, to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between these HR roles and performance, their alignment with the organizational strategy should not be ignored. In this paper, we therefore focus not only on whether the operational and strategic HR roles are linked to performance, but also on the extent to which their alignment with the applied organizational strategy actually matters for performance. We carried out a survey study among 336 respondents either holding an HR function or being responsible for HR-related tasks in various organizations. We found a positive effect of the strategic role on performance, and also how it might substitute a lack of innovation strategy. Further, we found an alignment effect between a cost strategy and the operational HR role in relation to organizational performance. We discuss these findings based on the literature and provide some practical recommendations for further developing the role of HR.     

绿色建筑设计管理分析与研究

我国绿色建筑发展正处于大力发展的阶段,应坚持立足于本土从国情出发、以节能为核心、以科技创新实现精细化设计的原则,不断采取专业工种的合理配合、选用适宜的技术以及集成化设计的具体措施推进绿色建筑的实施。     

Fiscal policy and capital mobility: the construction of economic policy rectitude in Britain and France

This research examines the regulatory response of the European Union to the global financial crisis, addressing the questions of whether, how and why the global financial crisis has changed the ‘old’ politics of financial services regulation in the EU and resulted in the emergence of a ‘new’ politics. It is argued that, with a good dose of political opportunism and ‘anti-free market’ rhetoric, a continental advocacy coalition sponsoring a ‘market-shaping’ regulatory approach has capitalised on the crisis, tipping the balance of regulatory power in the EU in its favour, as compared to the pre-crisis situation.     

Regional indentities and inter‐regional dialogue: The European union and the ASEM process

ASEM highlights the importance of looking at inside and outside, not as separate domains, but as parts of the same whole. This leads us to the broader lessons for the study of regionalization in the global political economy and for inter‐regional relations in particular. There is obviously a place for reading processes such as ASEM in terms of complex bargains that emerge from the material interests of the participants. After all, it is apparent from the literature emerging from (the former) DGI that this is what the actors think is going on. But this leads us to think about the possibilities for acquiring a broader understanding. The strategy proposed here suggests that there is some utility in applying techniques of ‘double reading.’